Federal Policy

Congressional lawmakers are standing up for cannabis businesses’ right to access traditional financial services and the federal coronavirus stimulus packages that are currently unavailable to the industry.

The Maryland town of Hancock is being forced to pay back a $600,000 federal renovation loan after the town rented the rehabbed facility to a medical cannabis company.

Six cannabis business organizations have sent a letter asking governors to provide state-based loans for the industry as the federal coronavirus aid program specifically omits the cannabis space from receiving any assistance.

Businesses that operate adjacent to the legal cannabis industry will be ineligible for the federal coronavirus loan assistance plan signed by President Trump last month.

Legal cannabis businesses spent nearly $11 million in federal lobbying efforts during 2019 — the spending is nearly three times what the industry spent in 2018.

Eleven U.S. senators — all Democrats — have filed a letter asking the federal Small Business Administration to open up loans and other financial assistance to state-legal cannabis companies amid the coronavirus crisis.

The DEA has unveiled a new rule proposal that would finally open up the licensing of new research-grade cannabis cultivators.

Two bills aiming to improve veterans’ access to medical cannabis have passed through the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee this week.

A recent Veterans Affairs memo confirmed that employees of the agency can still be fired for cannabis use, even if they live in states where it has been legalized for personal use.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Wednesday that the IRS faces “significant problems” due to the cash-only nature of the cannabis industry and urged lawmakers to address the issue “one way or another.”

President Trump’s budget proposal for the fiscal year 2021 would remove a rider containing protections for state-legal medical cannabis programs; congressional lawmakers, however, are expected to override the move.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders pledged this weekend that he would legalize cannabis in all 50 states on his first day if he wins the presidential election.

Lawmakers questioned officials from the DEA, FDA, and National Institutes of Health yesterday about the federal limitations on cannabis research; Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-MA) accused the government agencies of hiding behind a cannabis “Catch-22.”

The House Energy and Commerce health subcommittee will meet today to discuss the ongoing federal barriers to cannabis research.

The Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act cleared a second Democratically-controlled committee after the House Small Business Committee voted 24-10 in bipartisan favor of advancing the bill.

Federal regulators have unveiled a new policy that will enforce an FDA ban on fruit and mint flavors in e-cigarettes.

While the budget rider protecting medical cannabis from federal interference remained intact with the new omnibus package, recreational industry protections have been stripped.

The Environmental Protection Agency has approved 10 different pesticides for use on industrial hemp crops — the new approvals include nine biopesticides and one conventional pesticide product.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, a Republican from Idaho, says he does not support the SAFE Banking Act because it fails to address issues such as high cannabis potencies and marketing strategies that target children.

Chris Hagedorn is the general manager for Hawthorne Gardening Company, a business venture that provides all the cultivation needs of a state-legal cannabis operator.

Federal regulators have removed barriers that blocked industrial hemp companies from accessing traditional financial services despite the crop’s federally legal status.

As the first piece of federal legislation that would end cannabis prohibition to make it through committee, the MORE Act deserves a closer look; unfortunately, the bill is expected to be dead on arrival if it ever reaches the Senate.